Today in class we discussed Elif Shakak's novel, The Bastard of Istanbul. The class discussion was very insightful and went very well--as is proved by the fact that we have an entire week to complete our midterms. It is unfortunate, however, that because we have such a large class and everyone must be given a chance to speak in order to recieve credit, not all ideas can be explored thoroughly by every student.
Something that I thought was very interesting and important in the novel that wasn't mentioned in class was the importance of the city of Istanbul to the collective identity of both Turks and Armenians. Somone mentioned that because of the genocide, Armenians had a very scattered sense of identity. I thought that this was very significant and deserved to be explored further. Although there is a country called "Armenia" that is home to many Armenians, it was a Soviet Territory at the time of the genocide in Turkey. Because of this, most Armenians forced out of Turkey were also shut out of Armenia and were consequently forced to seek refuge in other countries.
Not once in the novel did the Turkish or Armenian families even mention Armenia. The Armenians do not identify with Armenia because it was never their home. Shafak is clearly making a statement that just because a country houses members of a certain race, it does not necessarily mean that all people of that race will feel at home in that country. Asya, for instance, is a Turk and feels so disenfranchised and nihilistic that she does not feel at home anywhere--certainly not in her home country of Turkey. Istanbul is very important to the novel because it doesn't only work as the setting for most of the novel's action (in both real time and flashback), but because it is the hometown of both families, thus making it central to their identities.
The Armenian-Americans displaced because of the genocide cling to this concept of victimhood because they can not feel at home in their new location. Because of their inability to reconcile with where they were forced to live, they cling to a romanticized notion of the past. Conversely, the Armenians living in Istanbul--Zehliah's boyfriend, for example--have made peace with the past because they have been able to grow and adapt with their home city of Istanbul.
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An understanding of Turkish history is a key aspect of understanding of the Armenian Genocide. I never understood why the Jews were persecuted so during WWII and I never understood that the Turks viewed the Armenians as traitors. These views of our fellow men have led many countries down violent and bloody paths. I think an understanding of one another needs to occur on a global level to decrease violence in society.
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ReplyDeleteI agree that it is important for everyone to be globally aware; ignorance is obviously the key player in misunderstandings. The main problem, however, is that not everyone can understand (or even be made aware of) everyone else's perspective. If nothing else, The Bastard of Istanbul strongly reinforced the idea that open dialogues and discussions are paramount to creating global, cross-cultural awareness and understanding. Problematically, the paradox then becomes that understanding can only be reached through direct discussions and sharing of ideas, but biases prevent open discussions from really happening.
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